Wormwood is a bitter-tasting plant used to make bitters, vermouths, and wormwood tea. It has a long history and was banned in the US due to its high thujone content. Drinking wormwood tea may have health benefits but should not be consumed for more than three to four weeks. Pregnant or lactating women should avoid it, and people should consult their doctors before using it.
Wormwood, or Artemisia absinthium, is a perennial plant in the daisy family. Wormwood, which is also called wormwood, has a bitter taste and is used to make bitters and vermouths. It can also be used to make wormwood tea, which is used to treat gastric pain and indigestion, stimulate the appetite, and protect the liver.
Wormwood has a long history. The ancient Egyptians, Syrians, Greeks, and Romans knew of this herb. The bible mentions wormwood as the mark on the ground where the snake slithered when the snake left the Garden of Eden. The Bible also mentions wormwood in the Revelations of Saint John. More recently, wormwood was an essential ingredient in absinthe.
Wormwood was first used as a medicine when the liquor was developed in France in the late 18th century. By the 1830s, absinthe as a liquor had crossed the oceans and landed in New Orleans. Legend has it that artists like Ernest Hemingway and Vincent Van Gogh touted the creative benefits of drinking absinthe. In 1912, wormwood was banned in the United States. This liquor had more than just a high percentage of alcohol and was thought to cause insanity.
Wormwood is high in thujone, which is structurally similar to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the ingredient that gives marijuana users their high. Drinking absinthe can lead to altered senses. Animals given high doses of thujone under laboratory conditions went into seizures, and some eventually died. Wormwood that is legally sold in the United States today does not have any thujone content.
While the thought of thujone may give you pause, drinking wormwood tea may have benefits beyond helping with gastric issues. For example, wormwood tea is carminative, which means it helps the body deal with flatulence. Also, drinking wormwood tea has anthelmintic properties, which means it helps rid the body of worms. This tea also has febrifuge properties to help fight body fevers.
Wormwood tea can be made by adding a teaspoon of dried wormwood to a cup of boiling water and letting the mixture steep for 10 to 15 minutes before drinking. Alternatively, 10 to 20 drops of wormwood tincture can be added to a cup of water. Some tea drinkers add maple syrup or honey to help counteract the bitter taste. The tea should be taken three times a day, 10 to 15 minutes before a meal.
Wormwood tea should not be used for a long period of time as the thujone in the tea can be toxic. Most suggest that the tea not be consumed for more than three to four weeks. Drinking too much wormwood tea over a long period of time can lead to insomnia, dizziness, and vomiting, as well as tremors, seizures, and convulsions. Pregnant or lactating women should not drink wormwood tea. People should consult their doctors before using wormwood to ensure that wormwood does not negatively interact with other drugs or herbs they may be taking.
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